HARARE – Loosing Citizens Coalition for Change (CCC) candidate for Chirumhanzu parliamentary constituency in the recent elections, Patrick Cheza has finally been granted bail by Masvingo High Court judge Garainesu Mawadze after spending weeks in remand prison.
Cheza was arrested along with four other party members on allegations of assaulting his Zanu PF rival Barbra Rwodzi, eventual winner of the seat.
All the suspects were freed after spending over two weeks in prison.
Cheza is facing one count of inciting public violence while Elias Maduveko, Magmaster Chidyawuye, Delight Zinyemba and Courage Mugova are all facing public violence charges.
The politician was arrested after he handed himself to the police following the arrest of his party colleagues earlier in the day of the alleged offence.
The assault allegations arose after Cheza and Rwodzi’s vehicles were involved in the same road traffic accident along Chaka-Charandura road in Chirumhanzu on August 24.
The rivals, who were not in their cars during the road mishap, soon met at the accident scene where a misunderstanding arose.
The state alleges Cheza incited his supporters to beat up Rwodzi.
Acting in common purpose, court heard that Chidyawuye violently tripped the government minister with his right foot at the same time trying to stab her in the face with a knife.
While she lay on the ground, prosecutors say, other CCC supporters joined in and indiscriminately kicked her several times all over her body.
CCC denies its supporters committed the alleged offence insisting they were targets of systematic state persecution for belonging to the opposition.
